26 h. ago Australia get too clever and pay the price for batting order jumble | Geoff Lemon

Failure of top three meant holders did not have enough runs when South Africa benefited from pitch flattening outAt a little before 1pm on a Saturday afternoon in London, a group of Australian cricketers stood around blinking in the sunlight, looking confused, like they had just popped up from a green tube in an unexpectedly bright part of the Koopa Kingdom. Less than a day earlier they had been right on top, happily on their way to a second consecutive World Test Championship title. In less than three sessions of stubbornness and brilliance, South Africa had taken that away.Sport is about creating an arena for the unexpected and some get hung up on the idea that acknowledging differences between participants is a form of disrespect. But the resource disparity should have made this contest one-sided. It was a triumph over politics and economics as much as over a rival group of players. Continue reading...

Economics

26 h. ago ‘Chokers? This win squashes that’: Bavuma hopes WTC victory can unite South Africa

‘As a country, it’s a chance for us to rejoice in something’South Africa beat Australia by five wickets in finalAfter generations of disappointment and heartbreak South Africa shrugged off the tag that has long haunted them with victory in the World Test Championship here. For years they have been smeared as chokers, but no more.“While we were batting we could hear the Aussies using that dreaded word: choke,” said Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain. “We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters. We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took. This win squashes that. Here’s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.” Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago Photos capture South Africa's emotional WTC final victory over Australia at Lord's

South Africa has upset Australia by five wickets to win the World Test Championship on the fourth day of the final at Lord's.

Culture

29 h. ago South Africa win World Test Championship after completing stunning comeback against Australia – as it happened

Aiden Markram scores 136 runs as South Africa defeat Australia by five wickets at Lord’s to lift the World Test Championship title60th over: South Africa 218-3 (Markram 106, Stubbs 0) So it is Tristan Stubbs to the middle. Starts at the non-striker’s end, but immediately gets strike as Markram guides a single. Lots of pressure on Stubbs, more a white-ball player but one of huge talent, who Shukri Conrad has backed in this team. Small target, plenty of time, and in a short-form game he might knock off these last 64 runs in five overs. But this is different. Hit on the pad early, Hazlewood appealing but it’s going down leg. Two slips and a gully, but the second slip is Webster and the gully is Green, so effectively four slips and two gullies. Cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket up closer. Deep point and deep backward square saving boundaries. Stubbs defends his first five balls.59th over: South Africa 217-3 (Markram 105) Oh, there it is! The first tremor? South Africa’s captain battled ...

Politics

29 h. ago Aiden Markram helps South Africa beat Australia in World Test Championship final

Set 282 to win, 70 more than had been scored in any of the first three innings at Lord’s, Markram scored 136 runs.

Sport

29 h. ago Temba Bavuma and South Africa’s unlikely triumph shows why Test cricket is worth saving

The first Black batter to make a century for South Africa has led them to World Test Championship glory - but wider issues within the format must be solved to save it

Politics

30 h. ago South Africa win World Test Championship after completing stunning comeback against Australia – live reaction

South Africa chasing a target of 282 to win at Lord’sRead the latest edition of The Spin | And email James60th over: South Africa 218-3 (Markram 106, Stubbs 0) So it is Tristan Stubbs to the middle. Starts at the non-striker’s end, but immediately gets strike as Markram guides a single. Lots of pressure on Stubbs, more a white-ball player but one of huge talent, who Shukri Conrad has backed in this team. Small target, plenty of time, and in a short-form game he might knock off these last 64 runs in five overs. But this is different. Hit on the pad early, Hazlewood appealing but it’s going down leg. Two slips and a gully, but the second slip is Webster and the gully is Green, so effectively four slips and two gullies. Cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket up closer. Deep point and deep backward square saving boundaries. Stubbs defends his first five balls.59th over: South Africa 217-3 (Markram 105) Oh, there it is! The first tremor? South Africa’s captain battled through the pain yesterd...

Politics

30 h. ago World Test Championship: South Africa end long trophy wait with tense Lord's victory over Australia

Aiden Markram’s sensational century helped South Africa to chase down 282

Politics

30 h. ago Markram steers South Africa to historic World Test Championship final triumph

Final, D4: SA, 138 & 282-5, bt Aus, 212 & 207, by five wktsVerreynne sees Proteas home against AustraliaFirst trophy since 1998 banishes ‘chokers’ barbAs the South African balcony erupted in ecstasy, and the green shirts in the crowd sent a roar ringing around St John’s Wood, Temba Bavuma simply sat there with his head in his hands. Relief? Disbelief? Whatever it was, it was the culmination of a journey from the township of Langa to the new pinnacle of Test cricket at Lord’s. South Africa, World Test Championship winners under his calm leadership, had made history.There were a couple of stutters along the way, moments when South African backsides started to twitch like a rabbit’s nose and memories of all those self-inflicted heartaches at International Cricket Council events came flooding back. But in the end, guided by a masterful 136 from Aiden Markram - catharsis after last year’s loss in the T20 World Cup final under his captaincy - they squeezed out the remaining 69 run...

Sport

33 h. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day four – live

South Africa chasing a target of 282 to win at Lord’sPlay starts at 10.30am BST / 11.30am SAST / 7.30pm AESTRead the latest edition of The Spin | And email GeoffWho’s nervous? I’m nervous, on their behalf. The batters in next will have spent the evening telling themselves that they’re relaxed, but I’m sure there are thoughts flittering around, mostly that they would all really like to not be required. Australia need to turn that screw right away to have a chance.Then there was Andy Bull, who pondered the slips and the turn of fate that saw Steve Smith’s horrible hand injury. Continue reading...

Sport

44 h. ago Aiden Markram hits unbeaten century to put South Africa on brink of World Test Championship glory

Proteas could win their first major trophy this century with victory at Lord’s

Events

45 h. ago ECB likely to continue as host of World Test Championship finals until at least 2031

Decision expected to be ratified at ICC conference in JulyWTC win would be ‘massive’, says South Africa coachThe third day of the World Test Championship final ended amid raucous scenes among the South Africa fans in the stands but possibly also with popping corks in the Lord’s pavilion as it emerged that England is likely to host the showpiece event for another three cycles.Arun Singh Dhumal, chair of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, informed the International Cricket Council in April that it would like to host the next final in 2027 and such is the BCCI’s power in the international game the move was seen as overwhelmingly likely. Continue reading...

Sport

47 h. ago Australia learn cricket’s oldest lesson as South Africa turn the tables in WTC

An Australian win looked inevitable after setting 282 to win, but Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma defied the oddsRight from the start of the day, there was an inevitability that this match was Australia’s. They started 218 runs in front, in the third innings, walking back onto a Lord’s field where 28 wickets had fallen in the previous two days. They had the four-star bowling attack, their opponents had the shooting-star batting order, one that had flashed and vanished in its first sighting. Soon this would be compounded by Temba Bavuma’s hamstring injury. The lead as it stood looked a chance to be enough, and first would come the chance to increase it a smidgen more.The sense of inevitability only grew as that smidgen broadened into a big dirty smudge. There is nothing more galling for a cricket team than a long tenth-wicket partnership. Every ball is more annoying than the one before. Things had started right, Kagiso Rabada in his second over of the day trapping Nathan Lyon with onl...

Politics

48 h. ago Catastrophic floods kill dozens in South Africa as photos show receding waters revealing more bodies

Receding floodwaters that submerged homes days before left the residents of Mthatha, South Africa, helpless. They watched the bodies of their families and neighbors being recovered from the aftermath of an extreme weather front that brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of the province.

Events

48 h. ago Aiden Markram gives South Africa control against Australia at Lord’s

The Proteas need another 69 runs to win the World Test Championship final.

Politics

49 h. ago Markram and Bavuma steer South Africa to verge of stunning WTC upset against Australia

Day three: Australia 212 & 207; South Africa 138 & 213-2Opener hits century and Bavuma bats on through injuryHeartache and South African cricket have not so much gone hand in hand over the years as been married and had a litter of kids. But provided they eke out the last 69 runs of what would be an epic run chase on day four, divorce papers can be issued and the World Test Championship mace will be theirs.At the end of a gripping third day Australia were left praying that South Africa’s habit of imploding at global events – yes, yes, the old chokers tag – might return in the morning. Guided by a sparkling unbeaten 102 from Aiden Markram, and the captain, Temba Bavuma, hobbling through a hamstring injury to finish on 65 not out, the Proteas had reached 213 for two at stumps in pursuit of 282 to win. Continue reading...

Politics

49 h. ago South Africa defy the doubters and Australia to close in on remarkable Test triumph

Aiden Markram’s magnificent unbeaten 102 helped South Africa edge closer to World Test Championship final triumph

Politics

57 h. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day three – live

Updates from the third day of the WTC final at Lord’sRead the latest edition of The Spin | And email GeoffThis is mine, with the Australian perspective on Pat Cummins’ remarkable day, and what influence a certain member of the nouveau landed gentry might have had.Here’s Simon Burnton with the press conference reporting, where David ‘Bedding In’ Bedingham is upbeat about knocking off the Aussies. Continue reading...

Sport

57 h. ago South African president to visit flood sites with death toll at 78 and expected to climb

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the sites of devastating floods that have left at least 78 people dead in the southeast of the country

Events

62 h. ago South African woman’s murder prompts anger at country’s high level of femicide

Olorato Mongale, allegedly killed by man she went on date with, is latest victim of violence against womenA wave of anger and frustration has gripped South Africa after the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale, allegedly by a man she went on a date with. It is the latest in a series of high-profile cases of violence against women and children in the country.Friends of Mongale, a former journalist who had been studying for a master’s degree in ICT policy, raised the alarm when she stopped checking in with them while on a date in Johannesburg on 25 May. Her body was found that day. Continue reading...

Events